This review of mine unfortunately shows a flaw in producing criticism of books long before they are published. I have belatedly turned to the sequel, "Cilka's Journey", which I have found to be quite risible in the fiction it presents, whereby the title character can get to jump sharks where sharks could never exist (seriously, her career path in the labour camps of the Siberian Gulag is ridiculous). In looking at other reviews to this latter book, I find that the pair act in partnership in presenting misrepresentations of the settings, the real-life people and the real world events, to such an extent certain relevant family members (and the Auschwitz Museum itself, in the case of The Tattooist) have disowned the books, and requested the author to cease and desist, more or less, in this her own career path.
While I cannot and will not change my thought above to the style, readability, or engaging quality of the book concerned, I will have to make it known that I was writing the review before any such valid negativity to the book from the people closest to the real characters was in the public domain. Had it been out there, I think I would have certainly found such a positive review much harder to present, and the moral choice of producing a fiction book – I cannot even call it faction – much harder to justify.